On a pillow kick.

So before James was born, I purchased SeaCloth fabric off Ebay. I think I got 5 yards for under $50. I knew I wanted to use the fabric for pillows on our sofa and measured and cut the fabric right away. When it came time to sew pillows with zippers I lost confidence in my sewing abilities. I contacted a woman to do the sewing for me, but that never worked out. Since then the pillows moved to my basement in a pile of someday projects. Well this weekend I decided to forego the zippers and do an envelope back instead.


I really like the final pillows. They give the couch more impact with very little investment. Sorry the image is so dark, no matter what I try I just cannot get it brighter. If you click on the image you get a better view.

Don’t judge we yet on the white walls, curtains and sofa. Our den is a long work in progress. I plan on making new curtains, but have not been able to find fabric I like at a reasonable price. In our laundry room I installed and inspiration board. Since it is a narrow room it is hard to get a good picture, but the upper right is my inspiration for our den. Don't tell Nick since there is more pink than he would be willing to agree with using.

Finally, here is another pillow I made from fabric I bought at the thrift store years ago. There was less than one yard, but I was able to cut around the good areas to make one pillow.

Someone an artist?

So last night we had an HVAC company give us an estimate for a new furnace. After coming up from our messy basement the very nice man asked if someone in our household was an artist since our decorating was so unique. I tried to explain that neither my husband nor I are artists, we just have a passion for making our home reflect our personalities. I guess I take it for granted that not everyone has a file box of inspirational tear sheets sorted by room/project or spend five years obsessing over purchasing the perfect sofa. I did not tell the man about either of these facts since I am sure he already thought we were odd. Oh well, I totally take it as a complement that our house is completely different from all the other houses he has been in over the years.

TaDa!

Today I was able to find an extra 30 minutes to finish hanging the artwork in the living room. Using the craft paper template made the process so much easier. After I measured and placed nails on the right side of the desk, I just pulled the paper down (carefully) and hung in the matching location on the left side and placed nails in the existing nail holes. Now looking at this photo I think they might be a little too close to the bookcase, but is so much better than having a blank wall.

Organizing Books by Hue

I keep my favorite and most referenced books in our den bookcases flanking the fireplace. I have tried many different combinations for organizing the books, but always hesitated to group by color. I have seen color grouping that I loved (Kevin Starkey's office bookshelf) and others that I did not like so much. I decided to give by hue it a try and actually really like the result. It is great when little 15 minute tasks create such a difference.

Hanging Art Thanks to Help from PhotoShop

So another small project on the to do list has being hanging artwork in the living room. Over a year ago we moved around the furniture, but never took the time to put artwork back on the walls. We have a set of 6 1950's model home watercolors that were hanging on this wall that now has the bookcase. I want to flank the watercolors on either side of the bookcase, but not sure the best height and position. Using PhotoShop and measuing on craft paper I have made a template for where I want them to be positioned. Now I just need to find another 30 free minutes to measure for the nails and hang. (And maybe another 30 more minutes to pick up the room).

It's never too late to be who you might have been. - George Elliot

I forget what blog I read this quote, but I have it on a post-it note at my computer. It reminds me to not put off the house projects, chores or work for another day or time. One of those items I keep putting off is new blog posts. Since I work from home now, I am constantly thinking of different updates to the house (artwork, painting, rugs, reorganization, etc), but I need help making up my mind. I need comments!!!

Today is the day that I am back! No more putting off our projects status, ideas or questions to another time. To start, I am posting a progress report that has been a very long time coming, the renovation of our guest bathroom.

Here is the best before photo that I have –

Here is where we are today (thanks to a lot of work by Nick). My favorite part is the new vanity area since it includes some of the best deals from the remodel. Information about the deals I posted here back in January. I cannot believe we have been working on the bathroom for that long!


We painted the ceiling Ink and the walls Sail, which are both discontinued Martha Stewart colors from Sherwin Williams.

Nick is working to get the new tile in the shower grouted and sealed before we have someone refinish the tub to match the white of the tile. It is hard to see from my photos, but Nick even titled the ceiling.

We still have to get the new shower hardware hooked up, towel bars, shower curtain and artwork, but we are so close. We might make it under the 1 year mark.